Stepping Down to Avoid a Protracted Impeachment Battle
Karin von Hippel
Bowing to pressure from Pakistan's newly-elected civilian government, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, once a top U.S. ally, said Monday that he will resign from office immediately, ending nearly nine years of largely military rule under his leadership.
Musharraf's resignation Monday signaled the end of a long and important relationship with the United States. Musharraf was one of the first Muslim leaders to declare allegiance to Washington after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. With his support, the United States was allowed to use several military bases in Pakistan, while Pakistani army troops were deployed to pursue Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents sheltering in the country's rugged tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan.
Karin von Hippel, co-director, Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project and Senior Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies, was online Monday, Aug. 18, at 2 p.m. ET to what effect the Musharraf resignation will have on U.S.-Pakistan relations.
The transcript follows.